Book Reviews Mission in Bold Humility: David Bosch's Work Considered. Edited by Willem Saayman and Klippies Kritzinger. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1996. Pp.viii, 184. Paperback $20. Does a missiologist merit a second Saayman, John Pobee, and Christopher ert Kegan's analysis of adult psychologi­ Festscrift? Yes, if his name is David Bosch, Sugden evaluate the importance of his cal development to missionaryformation. the noted former dean of the Faculty of thought respectively for South Africa, Curt Cadorette surveys mission and lib­ Theology at the University of South Af­ African theology, and that of the Two­ erationthemes in LatinAmericanCatholi­ rica (UNISA). In 1990 members of the Thirds World. Emilio Castro adds a per­ cism. A union bibliography of citations Southern African Missiological Society sonal reflection on Bosch as an "ecumeni­ and of works by Bosch are helpful aids for honored their founder-president with a cal personality" (pp. 162-66). further study, but a subject index is lack­ first Festscrift, entitled Mission in Creative In three essays contributors develop ing. Tension: A Dialogue with DavidBosch. This important themes raised by Bosch: Does Bosch deserve a second second Festscrift complements the first. eschatology {Jacob Kavunkal), the mis­ Festscrift? Yes, and perhaps a third, if the FollowingBosch's untimelydeathin 1992, sion dynamic-missio Dei(WilbertShenk), editors are right that "the true value of the editors, his longtime colleagues in the and theology of religions (Gerald Ander­ David's legacy will only become visible" missiology faculty at UNISA, gathered son). (p. 7) if the voices of his younger col­ appraisals of his work by distinguished The third group--essays on themes leagues and postgraduate students are missiologists outside South Africa. neglected by Bosch-arecreative in open­ heard. It contains three types of essays. Six ing up neglected edges of the discipline. -Norman E. Thomas are appraisals of Bosch's work. Remark­ DanaRobert researchedthe symbioticlink­ ably, they contain little duplication. The age ofAmericanandSouthAfrican women Norman E. Thomas, theVera B. Blinn Professor of editors assess Bosch as a South African as trainers and missionaries in South World Christianity at UnitedTheological Seminary church leader. Frans Verstraelen summa­ Africa's Dutch Reformed missions. Will­ in Dayton,Ohio,is the editorof Classic Texts in rizes and critiques his writings-in En­ iam Burrows proposes a "radicalCatholic Mission and World Christianity (Orbis 1995),a glish, Dutch, and Afrikaans-for content inculturation paradigm" (p, 122)to add to reader's companion toBosch's Transforming Mis­ and relevance to Africa. Those by Willem Bosch'ssix. MargaretGuider applies Rob­ sion. Truth and Authority in Modernity. the West to regain confidence in the Gos­ pel. By Lesslie Newbigin. ValleyForge, Pa.: Trin­ -Jan van Butselaar ity Press International, 1996. Pp. ix, 83. Pa­ perback $8. Jan van Butselaar is General Secretary oftheNeth­ There are (at least!) two features in the lar form of faith. Or, Christian faith is a erlands Missionary Council in Amsterdam. His writings of Lesslie Newbigin that I am valid partner in the search for truth and missionary experience was shaped by work in extremely grateful for: his insistence on authority in Western culture. It even may Rwanda, in Mozambique, and in his own country, Netherlands. the faith character of Christian faith, and come up, in the end, with the answer: the the his capacity to show the "respectability" story of Jesus Christ. of the Christian analysis of reality in the As we have seen him do before, the midst of all kinds of scientific and would­ author very ably depicts the limitations of be scientific arguments. Also in this clas­ science and scientific research. The basis sic publication these points come clearly of modern science, the trust in reason, is Teologiay misi6nen AmericaLatina. to the fore. On the very first page he starts critically studied. Truth, Newbigin says, his argument in the same way as he did at is discovered at a deeper level of human By Rodolfo Blank. St. Louis, Mo.: Recursos the recent Salvador World Mission Con­ life, namely, where experience, reason, Etnicos, 1996. Pp. 318. Paperback. No price ference: "If the reality we seek to explore tradition, and Scripture meet each other. given. ... is the work of a personal Creator, then In short, it is through faith that humanity authority resides in this one who is the may know the truth-and enjoy it. Rodolfo Blank, a Lutheran theologian and Author." This "if" shows from the begin­ Newbiginisanimpressivewriter(and pastorwithmore thanthirtyyears of Latin ning thatChristianfaith is concerned with speaker!). His analysis of the limited func­ American experience, has produced a faith, not with any "neutral" mathemati­ tion of science and reason has beenwidely valuabletext, evidentlyintended as a kind cal formula. This axiom, however, does accepted today. On that basis, we in the of textbook to offer a bird's-eye view of not mean that Christian faith is excluded West can start to tell the story again. Not the church and theological development from the epistemological discussion in the big triumphaliststoryofChristendom, in Latin America from the time when the (Western) culture. On the contrary. but the story of the little man from first Europeans set foot on the continentto Newbigin shows that every "scientific" Nazareth. Newbigin has realized a tre­ the present. Several histories of Latin analysis starts (and ends) with a particu- mendous mission: to help the church in American Christianity have appeared 128 INTERNATIONAL BULLETIN OF MISSIONARY RESEARCH during the last decades-some of which wrestles with questions such as "Is Chris­ in Part 3, entitled "Into the Twenty-First Blank has used-but none of them tried to tianity Suited to the African?" (pp. 3-16) Century-Africaas a ChristianContinent: explore (as this author does) the theologi­ and "How Is It That We Hear in Our Own The Prospects and Challenges." The four cal presuppositions that inspired and Languages the Wonders of God?" (pp. chapters of this section represent the most guided the missionary enterprise in Latin 59-74). He also examines the problem of engaging reflections in the book. In "The America and its further development. In African identity and Christianity (pp. 17­ Making of Christian Africa: The Surprise this sense, the book is a new and welcome 38). Story of the Modern Missionary Move­ contribution to a better understanding of In Part2, "Christianityas a Non-West­ ment," "The Place of Africa in a Changing Latin American Christianity. ern Religion: Issues Arising in a Post­ World: The Christian Factor," and "Chris­ Teologia y misi6nen America Latina is MissionarySetting," the authordealswith tian Religion and African Social Norms: very rich and reveals an excellent knowl­ broader missiological concerns. Here the Authority, Desacralisation, and Democ­ edge of the sources, trends, strengths, and focus is less on Africa. racy," Bediako courageously faces the is­ limitations of mission and theology. The Bediako returns to African concerns sues of Christianity in contemporary Af- first chapters, in particular, offer an excel­ lent introduction to theology and mis­ sionary methods in the early stages of the conquest and evangelization of the conti­ nent. In this sense, it fulfills also a critical function and stimulates a necessary dis­ APPLICATIONS INVITED FOR cussion about Latin American Christian­ ity. It is here, however, where one would RESEARCH GRANTS IN THE STUDY OF THE have liked a more balanced and nuanced WORLD CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT discussion. The somewhat rigid applica­ tion of strictly Lutheran orthodoxy leads to some one-sided interpretations, for in­ The Overseas Ministries Study Center, New Haven, stance, of popular religiosity, Pente­ Connecticut, U.S.A., administers the Research Enablement costalism, and liberation theology. This Program for the advancement of scholarship in studies of the revieweralso found the discussionofearly Catholic missionary theology and action worldwide Christian movement and of the development of too stereotyped. These critical comments Christian communities in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and are by no means a disqualification of the Oceania. Subject to the availability of funds, grants will be book, whichwill certainlybe a veryuseful awarded on a competitive basis in the following categories: instrument to introduce the study of Latin American missionary theology and ac­ tion. Postdoctoral book research and writing projects -Jose Miguez Bonino International research for doctoral dissertations Jose Miguez Bonino is Professor of Systematic The­Scholarly consultations on world Christianity ologyattheInstitutoSuperior Eoangelico deEstudios Teol6gicos, Buenos Aires,andanordained minister Projects for establishing, preserving, and making of theMethodist Church in Argentina. accessible collections of non-Western research materials Projects that are international, cross-cultural, and collaborative, and that are interdisciplinary-involving the humanities and social sciences as well as theological Christianity in Africa: The Renewal disciplines-are especially welcome. The deadline for of a Non-Western Religion. receiving 1998 grant applications is November 14, 1997. For By Kwame Bediako. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis further information and official application forms please Books; andEdinburgh: Edinburgh Univ.Press, contact: 1995. Pp. xii, 276. Paperback $25. Geoffrey A. Little, Coordinator